This
is my first die cast Matchbox Lion Voltron III. I got him on May Xvii, Mmvi and it cost
me $CXXV (with the 6" version). Voltron had always been
parted of me...I'm glad to own him. As a kid, I had always want to
own the Voltron Lion but never had the finance to get one.

VOLTRON
- DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE:

-VOLTRON
III: Voltron Of The Far Universe-

Opening
Intro:

"From
days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a
legend. The legend of Voltron: Defender of the Universe! A mighty robot.
Loved by good, feared by evil. As Voltron's legend grew, peace settled
across the galaxy. On planet Earth, a galaxy alliance was formed.
Together with the good planets of the solar system, they maintained
peace throughout the universe. Until a new horrible menace threatened
the galaxy. Voltron was needed once more. This is the story of the super
force of space explorers. Specially trained and sent by the Alliance to
bring back Voltron: Defender of the Universe."

NOTE:
In the Vehicle Voltron intro, the yellow sentence was replaced by "And
trusted by the Alliance with the ancient secret of how to assemble"

NOTE-1:
This review page is meant to give you some ideas about the figure and for
nostalgic or sentimental purposes. I hold no responsibility for your
action. These
images were mostly photographed and scanned by me. If there's a section or
image that owned by you and I didn't give you credit, please Email
Me and I'll make the correction. Have fun.

- Click on
the Thumbnails to view them at a Larger Scale -

[Thumbnail
Size = 100xHeight]

R-1Matchbox Voltron III in its Original condition:

R-1A:This is the Matchbox Regular Edition of
the Lion Voltron aka Voltron III in its original condition. The
front of the box shows the Lion Voltron Art. On the back, there are ads of Voltron I,
Voltron II, and Voltron III in their regular size and in the miniature
version. The top flap has the small Voltron art and the tradition Voltron logo. The
side panel has the ads of the actual action figures.

NOTE-2:
Both the Matchbox Vehicle and Lion Voltron were released with two boxes variation, the Regular Edition and the latter Deluxe Edition. The
Regular Edition (above) has the box in "Bookstyle" format meaning you
can open a flap (cover) and the figures can be seen through a window. The
Deluxe Edition
has none, you would have to open the box to see the figures. Other
than the box itself, both figures are identical.

R-1B:Lion Voltron is packaged on a Styrofoam
container (left image).

These are all the contents that were included in the box/ package/ card:
"1" black lion, "1" red lion, "1" green
lion, "1" blue lion, "1" yellow lion, and
"1" instruction sheet.

NOTE-3:
To see the Lion Voltron art from this box at a larger scale click the image on PIC-1.

R-2Matchbox Lion 1 - Black Lion (Body/ Head):

Out
of the five Lions, the Black Lion is the largest, heaviest, and the most blocky
of the group. The material included die cast metal on the chest, chrome
feet, and the rest is plastic. As for articulation: Neck can be tilted
downward, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, and Tail all can be bent. In
addition, the jaw can be open and stay open unlike the Blue and Yellow
Lion.

Pre-Applied
Stickers: 4: "1"
number 1 sticker on the back of the neck. "1" green sticker on
the upper nose. "1" large sticker on the chest. And
"1" Copyright sticker below the crotch.

NOTE-4:
Unlike the Matchbox Lion Voltron, the 1997
Trendmasters Lion Voltron has a technical specification description of each
lion ability on the box.

R-3Matchbox Lion 2 - Red Lion (Right Arm):

Other
than colors, both the Red Lion and Green Lion share the same feature from die
cast part, to articulation, to special feature. Die cast for the arm lions are located at the front and rear half of the body segment.
Feet are chrome while the head and tails are plastic. As for articulation,
these two lions don't have articulated neck. However, they can bent their body
in half or rotated it sideway which the other three can't do. Other than
these, all 5 Lions share the same feet articulation. And just like the
Black Lion, both the Red Lion and Green Lion jaw can be opened and stay opened.

Pre-Applied
Stickers: 6: "1"
number 2 sticker on the back of the neck. "2" blue stickers
locate on either side of the number 2 sticker. "1" yellow
sticker rest on the yellow peg for firing the head. "2" large
blue sticker at the rear. And "1" Copyright sticker at the
underside of the neck.

R-4Matchbox Lion 3 - Green Lion (Left Arm):

Same
comment as R-4, Red Lion.

Pre-Applied
Stickers: 2: "1"
number 3 sticker on the back of the neck. And "1" Copyright
sticker at the underside of the neck.

R-5Matchbox Lion 4 - Blue Lion (Right Leg):

As
the feet of Voltron, both the Blue Lion and Yellow also share some similarities with each other just like the arm lions with theirs.
Die cast metal part is located on the entire body. Feet are chrome while the
head and tails are plastic. As for the articulation, it is pretty much the
same as the Black Lion. But unlike the Black Lion, its head can be bent at
a full 90 degree upright. The jaw on both the Blue Lion and Yellow Lion is
different too. If you tried to let it stays open, it won't stay open because
there is a spring or some sort that pull it back in.

Pre-Applied
Stickers: 4: "1"
number 4 sticker on the back of the lion. "1" on pentagon
sticker on the head. "1" large black sticker with white trim on
the neck. And "1" Copyright sticker at the underside of the
neck.

R-6Matchbox Lion 5 - Yellow Lion (Left Leg):

Overall,
same comment as the Blue Lion, R-6.

Pre-Applied
Stickers: 7: "1"
number 5 sticker on the back of the lion. "2" red stickers in
front of either ear. "2" more color stickers at the back of the
ear. "1" large red sticker with black stripe on the neck.
And "1" Copyright sticker at the underside of the neck.

R-7Matchbox Lions Scale Comparison:

So
how big are these lions in reference to one another? Well hopefully the
left image would give you some general ideas regarding their size. Top
right corner is an overall scale of the Lions. Bottom right is the scale
comparison between the leg lion and arm lion. Top left corner is the scale
comparison between the body lion and the leg lion while bottom left image is the
comparison between the body lion to the arm lion. Anyhow, here is a rough
dimension on these lions measuring in LxWxH in inch.

Wonder
what happen to the Black Lion front leg during the Voltron mode? Well here
is how it works. The shoulder swing 180 degree back, next lift the black
panel up revealing a storage space for the Black Lion front feet to slide in,
now close the panel. And just like that, we have hidden the Black Lion
front leg (bottom left image). The face of Voltron is actually
hidden on top half of the Black Lion head. To reveal Voltron face, just
simply flip it down, (top left image). Yellow Lion features two special gimmicks, open ear
and a pop up cannon on his back. The Blue Lion gimmick included pop up
head and the red thing on the back of the lion can also be pop out too. Red and Green Lion
gimmick feature a firing lion head by pressing a peg on top of the neck.
Last but not least, all the lions shoulder are designed in a way so if you
compress their opposite leg toward with one another, it felt like they have
spring inside. But instead it is hinged.

R-9
Finally
as Matchbox Voltron III:

In
combine mode, Voltron is one beautiful robot. This is the regular version
not to be confused with the 6 inch miniature version.
Voltron is tall and measure
approximately 12 inch up to the wing. As for the weight, Voltron is very
heavy thanks to his large size and the many die cast metal and chrome
parts. I would say 80% of this guy is die cast metal so if you love metal
part then this figure is for you. The connection on Voltron joints seem to
hold each member very well. My only complaint about the Lion Voltron whether
the 1984 Matchbox, 1997
Trendmasters, or 2006
Toynami Masterpiece is the connection between the Black Lion and leg lions
because the tab locking mechanism is so rigid and stiff. Over time, the leg connection
will be the first to break.

NOTE-6:
In order to differentiate the three Voltrons, Matchbox labeled the Vehicle
Voltron as Voltron I, the 3 individual robots Voltron consisted of Red Robot, Black
Robot, and Blue Robot were labeled as Voltron II (or Gladiator), and the Lion
Voltron was labled as "Voltron III."

R-10Matchbox Voltron III's in Battled Mode:

Matchbox
Lion Voltron has decent articulation. He features movable shoulder, elbow,
leg, a little bit of knee movement, and feet. The wrist or lion head can
be fired out just like the cartoon.

R-11Voltron - Matchbox Vs. Trendmasters:

So
what are the differences between the Matchbox and Trendmasters Lion
Voltron? Well, the two left images and the list below should cover
their differences.

Matchbox Voltron

Trendmasters Voltron

1 - Introduced
in 1984

1 - Introduced
in 1997

2 - Copyright
is on a sticker and adhere over the lions.

2 - Copyright
is printed on the lions.

3
- The 2
weapons are sold separate from the lions.

3
- The 17
weapons are packaged with the lions.

4 - Green, Red,
Blue, and Yellow Lion colors are more darker.

4 - Green, Red,
Blue, and Yellow Lion colors are more pale.

5
- Voltron face is blue, red, and white.

5
- Voltron face is black, red, and white.

6 - From
shoulder to shoulder, Voltron measures 6
6/16 in inch

6 - From
shoulder to shoulder, Voltron measures 7
1/4 in inch.

7
- The 6
rectangles in the crest sticker of Voltron are wider.

7
- The 6
rectangles in the crest sticker of Voltron are shorter.

8 - The red
decals around Voltron crest are painted.

8 - The red
decals around the Voltron crest are stickers.

9
- Voltron crotch
has extra red paint within the black paint.

9
- Voltron crotch
has all black paint.

10 - Black Lion
has 4 pre-applied stickers

10 - Black Lion
has 5 pre-applied stickers

11
- Black Lion upper nose has extra sticker.

11
- Black Lion upper nose is all painted.

12 - Black Lion
upper tail has 2 extruded circles.

12 - Black Lion
tail is all flushed.

13 - Black Lion
shoulder inactive missile socket is still exposed.

13 - Black Lion
shoulder inactive missile socket had been sealed up.

14 - Red Lion
has 6 pre-applied stickers

14 - Red Lion
has 3 pre-applied stickers

15
- Red Lion
rear body is all even out no extra part.

15
- Red Lion
rear body has an extra flap over the body.

16 - Red Lion tail
is gray.

16 - Red Lion tail
is black.

17 - Green Lion
has 2 pre-applied stickers

17 - Green Lion
has 1 pre-applied stickers

18 - Green Lion tail
is gray.

18 - Green Lion
is black.

19
- Green Lion
rear body is all even out.

19
- Green Lion
rear body has an extra flap over the body.

20 - Blue Lion
has 4 pre-applied stickers

20 - Blue Lion
has 3 pre-applied stickers

21
- Blue Lion
ear has an extra red plastic over the chrome.

21
- Blue Lion
ear is all chrome - no extra red plastic.

22 - Blue Lion
tail is more bulky.

22 - Blue Lion
tail is more narrow.

23
- Yellow Lion
has 7 pre-applied stickers

23
- Yellow Lion
has 4 pre-applied stickers

24 - Yellow Lion
ear has a silver cylinder.

24 - Yellow Lion
ear silver cylinder was removed.

25
- Yellow Lion
ear flap inactive missile peg is still expose.

25- Yellow Lion
ear flap inactive missile peg had been removed.

26 - The tip of
the Yellow Lion tail has extra peg and bulky.

26 - The tip of
the Yellow Lion tail has no extra peg and narrow.

R-12
Rémy's Matchbox Voltron III action figure review:

Manufacturer:
Matchbox

Line,
Series/ Wave: Matchbox Lion Force Voltron,
First Edition.

Year
Issue: [1984]

Made:
[Japan]

Scale:
[N/A]

Box
or Card Dimension In Inches:
[LxWxD] -19 1/8 x 13 1/8 x 4 7/16

Box
or Card Assortment Number: [700200]

Packaging
Method:
Mint In Seal Box. Contents were packed
with the following procedure:

Toy
Materials: Die CastMetal:
The Black Lion diecast metal is located on the chest. The rest of the 4
lions had their diecast metal on their body. Chrome Metal: All of the lions feet. Rubber:
None Plastic: All of the lions heads and tail.
Clear Plastic Window:
None

Stability:
[A]- Robot
mode can stand on any surface...very stable.

Fun
Toy: [A] -Definitely
a fun toy.

Negative
Drawback: If
not too careful, the paint application is easily chipped off especially on the
chrome weapons and the lion chrome feet.

Articulations: Head:Cannot
be rotated. Shoulder:Can
be swung at a 360 degree and a 90 degree sideway. Arm:Can be bent at a 90 degree angle, the lower
portion can be rotated at a 360 degree. Hand (lion head):Cannot be rotated. However, the jaw (hand) can be
opened. Hip/Waist:Cannot
be bent or rotated. Leg:Can be bent 90 degree forward or
backward. Knee:Cannot be bent. Feet/
Ankle:No sideway movement. Feet can be bent
downward.

Special
Notes: Here are "3" special notes which
I thought you should know:

1
- Both the Green and Red Lion has the capability to fire out their head so check
to make sure yours is in working condition.

2
- To release the leg lions from the Black Lion in Voltron formation, don't
forget to press the yellow mechanism on both the Yellow and Blue Lion to
separate them back into their lion component. Be gentle with the yellow locking
mechanism, don't break it.